New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-08-25
TIE UrRRICANE SEASON OPENED.

Tho two West India hurricanes which have
impinged upon the South Atlantic coast within
a few days are not the first 20 be reportc' t"ls
Season One which made much mischief IN
Western Cuba July "a Appeared OIL PcnsaoOia
three DAYS later, but like many others 1t aDatcd
on passing inland. and its only decided elect
thereafter were heavy rains in Alabama ana
Georgia where It fingered aimlessly for IA week.
and then died out That tidal wave which the
Umbria, Wisconsin and Othcr ocean vessels en-
couutercd late I'm July, and the peculiar accccra-
ton and stoppage of the Gulf Stream oil Hat
teras and Florida ten days ago, were phenomena
such as often attend this tyre of meteorological
disturbance. Fortunately but little harm has re-
suited from the earlier storms of this years cy.
clone season; but If the Kitty Hawk observers
estimate Of the gale felt on the North Carolina
coast Frlday-l25 miles an hOur-bc accurate that
storm may make a good deal of trouble as 1t
bowls across the Atlantic. AS yet the extent
and precise course of the one moving up opposite
Florida on Monday and Tuesday are not
fully developed; but this, too. If 1t follows the
majority of prcccdcnts, will curve away and
follow the Gulf Stream toward Europe.
Like It's first cousin, the typhoon of Bengal Bay
and the China Seas, the West India cyclone Is
born over the water, and makes the ocean It's
chief highway. All cyclones originate in tho
tropics move first to the westward or north
westward, and then describe a parabolc curve
and pass away TO the northcastward or eastward.
Sailors, however, and shipping are not their
only victims When they visit well populated
coast dwellings and public buildings are often
levclled by the wind, which sometimes reaches OF
even exceeds n velocity of loo miles an hour;
long continued gales bank up tho water at
times upon low shores like those Of Louisiana
..,1 I'm,
wharves, warehouses and such other structures
as are exposed thereto; and loss Of life as well
as Of property, results from the two causes. Forty
persons were drowned otherwise killed and
property damaged to the extent of So, 900 900 in
and near Galveston and Indianola by one hurr-
cane last August, and the greater part of the
harm done by the floods. Upon the Orissa
coast near Calcutta, the destruction of several
villages and thousands of lives by one Of the
tidal waves which frequently attend a typhoon
there is orted once or twice nearly every year
Rarely IRE West India storms felt on land in
the United States north of the Chesapeake Bay.
The great atmospheric current which dominates
the course of these mctcors bears away to tho
nOrtheastward in ATTITUDES north Of parallel 800;
and if no other influence intcrvcnes to compli-
cate the situation, the recurvaturc of the storm
track occurs on the Carolina coast still
further to the south Of us. In exceptional cases.
though, these terrible invaders come up near or
just inside the coast, TO Ncw-York and New
England; their inward suction creating an alb
normal high tide all along ore, their gales not
sufficiently abating TO spare weak buildings that
come within reach, and the attendant rains often
exceeding In violence the worst Of summer
showers. Such dcviations from the usual path
occurred In 1879 and 1882, and the eccentrlcity
was In these instances due apparently TO the ST.
multancous movement Of other storms eastward
along the great lakes, the two disturbances tend
ing to merge near tho Maine coast Thus be-
tween September 20 and 3D. 1882, there fell in
this city nine and one-ha II inches of rain, much
more than twice the normal quota for the whole
month. Tho consequent floods washed out cul-
verts and railroad entertainments, destroyed dams
and street pavements, and ruined no end Of
property In cellars I'm adjacent towns. Sub
merged tracks delayed trains and mails, and wide
damage was done TO shade trees and buildings
by the gale. New-England, New-Jersey, the
lower Hudson region and eastern Pennsylvania
suffered alike. but not until after the storm
had paid its respects to North Carolina. On the
other hand, there are years when the three dan
gerous months Of August September and Oct0-
Der pass without any part of the Gulf or Atlantic